The present invention generally relates to an optical cable fitting assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to an optical cable fitting assembly in which fiber optic cable is carried to various fiber optic or optoelectronic equipment. The present invention further provides a method for manufacturing a fiber optic cable assembly.
Optical cables include cables having at least one optical fiber of glass or other transmissive dielectric material. Fiber optic fitting assemblies are generally known for use in interconnecting optical cables to optoelectronic equipment. Problems may often occur during the manufacture, termination and installation of the fiber optic fitting assemblies. The optical fibers, when stripped from the cable jacket, are extremely fragile making it difficult to work with the fiber optic cable when assembling fittings around the end of the cable. In addition, the optical fibers should not be exposed to harmful environmental conditions such as moisture, dust and dirt. Exposure to these environmental conditions may result in poor optical performance and diminished service life.
To this extent, the manufacture of a cable fitting assembly for fiber optic cable that can provide effective sealing from the environment at a reasonable cost has been difficult. Existing practices include connectors secured directly onto the cable and terminated into a port of an optoelectronic system. However, these assemblies do not provide sufficient sealing protection from water, dust and dirt either within the connector or between the assembly and the optoelectronic equipment.
A need, therefore, exists for an improved optical cable fitting assembly as well as a method for manufacturing the same.